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A British man died in a French hospital early Sunday after falling ill while swimming across the Channel from Dover in southern England, police said.

The man, named as Nick Thomas, died shortly before reaching the French coast.

He arrived in the northern port city of Calais shortly before midnight (2200 GMT), brought in by a safety boat that was travelling alongside him, a police spokesman said.

He apparently swam for 16 hours before being pulled from the water. Thomas, who died on the eve of his 45th birthday, was attempting the swim without wearing a wet suit, making it all the more challenging.

His heart had stopped and he was in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest when the emergency services took him to hospital.

Despite attempts to revive him, the man died shortly before 3:00 am.

In July 2013, a British woman in her 30s died in a Boulogne hospital after trying to swim the Channel to raise money for charity.